Hand rims on wheelchairs are used for propelling and maneuvering the wheelchair. Certain prior art systems have been developed to address disadvantages of standard hand rim designs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,964 discloses a wheel chair hand rim that claims to provide improved control and mobility through a cross-sectional contour that is configured to optimize the gripping surface and finger wrap over widely differing angles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,739 discloses a dual friction hand rim assembly that can have a rubber-like traction ring providing a propulsion rim portion to propel the wheelchair and that can have a smooth metal rim, brake or braking rim portion to restrain and brake the wheelchair without burning or otherwise injuring the user's hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,497,456 discloses a wheelchair pushrim with an increased surface area and an insert between the wheel and the pushrim. The cross-section of the pushrim is an elongated circle and the insert is a concave trough made of an elastic material which compressibly fits between the wheel and the rim for convenient installation.
However, there is still a need for a hand rim for a wheelchair which provides improved maneuvering performance through its shape and through a cover on the rim, as well as easy customization of the spacing between the rim and the wheel.